USPS Hours – Post Office Hours, Close, Open and Delivery Timings

The United States Postal Service also known as USPS or US Mail provides an end to end solution for all letters and packages through their mail and shipping services to individuals and businesses. This agency has been majorly responsible for providing postal services across the country and transforming the way we conduct business and proving to be a backbone of U.S.

Most people are not able to use this service as they don’t know the opening and closing retail hours of the post office. To utilize this service effectively, one should understand the USPS office hours, which are discussed below.

Post Office Hours:

It is essential to know the working hours of the post office to effectively manage and coordinate the time of delivery and sending of letters/packages. So, the next question which arises is how to find out the US post office hours. In general for any USPS business hours are from 8.30 AM – 5.00 PM. But the hours may vary from each county. An example of this is as below:

As is evident from above, the USPS office hours are different for each state and county. More information can be obtained on the official website of United States Postal Service. The website provides detailed information on the name of Post office, address, PO Box number, opening and closing hours for all the states and their major cities.

There are many services which are offered by USPS. Over the years United States Postal Services has reinvented itself by providing a wide range of services to its consumers and increasing its presence in the country. The USPS hours of operation are different for each service, which has led to a better-organized sector thereby increasing their productivity and their revenue.

The Services offered are:

Domestic Mailing and Shipping

International Mailing and Shipping. They offer Express mail, First class mail amongst others.

Postal Money orders

Business transactions are catered to separately, and they allow for Bulk Mailing.

They have recently branched out to cater to Passport applications and appointments.

The office hours are different from state to state and entirely decided based on the populace, geography, business impact, purpose of use. For instance, a post office in a prominent city center will have more extended business hours as compared to a county which has a population of less than 5000.

The most searched question is ‘Post Office hours today.’ This issue holds more prominence during the Holiday season, and more people are unclear of the timings. For the most basic services offered by the post office, i.e., buying of stamps, mailing of letters and packages, the general working hours can be utilized, say from 8.30 AM – 4.30 PM. But for more specific services like accessing the PO Box, one has to take into account the post office working hours for Lobby access and PO Box access.

Now USPS has started accepting applications towards Passport renewal and change of address, etc. Not all post offices have these kinds of services but are present at the prominent ones of the city and county, and prior appointments are a prerequisite. There are few time slots allocated for walk-in appointments for Passport services as well, at few USPS centers. More information regarding the business hours for these specific services can be obtained from their official website and are as mentioned below.

US Post Office Timings:

USPS has a plethora of services to offer such as delivering mails, parcels, gifts and sending the money order. So it makes sense for anyone who wants to avail these services knows the timings of the post office. Every service has allocated timings. For example; each post office has different retail hours, different lobby hours and different last collection hours. These are explained below:

Retail Hours: Postmasters provide all retail services for close to 9 or more hours on nonholiday weekdays, unless otherwise authorized by the district manager, Customer Service, and Sales. Retail service hours are scheduled to meet the needs of local postal customers. These include buying of stamps, mailing and delivery of packages to PO Box, Buying Money orders and sending Military money can be done during Retail hours. Global Express Guaranteed hours are usually same as Retail hours, which means that all international mailing and delivery can be carried out during the USPS timing allocated for Retail. The post office timing for today can vary for weekdays and weekends. For example, prominent post offices can have extended retail hours even on Saturday whereas USPS centers at different locations can be closed.

Lobby Hours: All customers must have access to their boxes during all retail service counter hours. Normally, separate Post Office box lobbies should remain open when someone is on duty in the postal unit. At the postmaster’s discretion, the lobbies may remain open to allow customers access to Post Office boxes and self-service kiosks, provided that customer safety, security provisions, and police protection are deemed adequate by the Inspection Service.

Last Collection Hours: Is the last time of day Post Office will collect those letters or packages for further processing on the same day. So if you drop in on Friday post-Last Collection hours, then it will not be postmarked until Monday. For instance, the last collection of mails at the post office located at 75 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002 on weekdays is 12.00 PM and on Saturdays is 11.15 AM.

Bulk Mail Acceptance Hours: This service is usually utilized by Businesses who aim to better their presence relying on the vast network of the United States Postal Services. The time for bulk mail is slightly different from the retail hours. It usually starts a little late as compared to the Retail hours and ends a few hours earlier as well. This arrangement is made so that the post office timings are not entirely monopolized by bulk mail orders and other services are also allocated time for the efficient running of the system.

Self Service Kiosks: These service centers are usually operational 24hr and can be accessed by anyone and can carry out actions like printing of stamps, mailing, etc.

Passport Services: This service is available in all prominent post offices. Services such as Photo for Passport and Passport appointments are specifically allocated, and these services can be utilized accordingly. People who walk-in can also do so by making use of the specifically allocated time slot.

PO Box Delivery Time: It is a fixed time slot where the delivery of mails and packages happen to the boxes present at the post office. This service is unavailable during weekends.

Pick-up Services: This service is for patrons who have a PO Box at the United States postal service center. This service is available during weekdays and unavailable on weekends and holidays.

PO Box Access Hours: In some places, the PO Boxes are not in the same center as the post office and can be accessed 24 hr/day provided the security and safety measures are taken care.

An example of this measure is the post office of WACO located at 430 W State Highway 6 Waco, TX 76702-9998.

Retail Hours:

Mon-Fri: 8:00am – 5:30pm

Sat 8:00am – 1:00pm

Sun Closed

Lobby Hours:

Mon-Sun: 12:01am – 11:59pm

Bulk Mail Acceptance Hours:

Mon-Fri -10:00am – 5:00pm

Sat-Sun Closed

PO Box Access Hours:

Mon-Sun – 12:01am – 11:59pm

Global Express Guaranteed Hours:

Mon-Fri 8:00am – 5:30pm

Sat 8:00am – 1:00pm

Sun – Closed

PO Box Delivery Time:

Mon-Sat – 10:00 am

Sun – Closed

Self-Service Kiosk Hours:

Mon-Sun 12:01am – 11:59pm

Pickup Services Hours:

Mon-Fri – 8:00am – 5:30pm

Sat 8:00am – 1:00pm

Sun – Closed

Passport Appointment Hours:

Mon-Fri -10:00am – 1:00pm
– 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Sat-Sun- Closed

Passport Walk-In Hours:

Mon-Fri 9:00am – 10:00am

Sat-Sun Closed

Passport Photo Hours:

Mon-Fri – 9:00am – 3:00pm

Sat-Sun – Closed

What Time Does the Post Office Open?

To make use of services from USPS, one should know the opening or start of business hours. In general, most post offices open from 8.30 AM.

The USPS opening hours of few of the post offices are given below:

Downtown Waco:

Location: 424 Clay Ave Waco, TX 76706-9998

Open Time: Mon – Fri: 8.00 AM

Sat: 10.00 AM

Sun: Closed

The opening of the post office for PO Box Access hours and the Lobby hours are same but differ from the Retail hours for this post office.

Highlander:

Location: 4428 N 19th St Waco, TX 76708-9998

Open Time: Mon – Fri: 8.30 AM

Sat: 10.00 AM

Sun: Closed

The opening of the post office for PO Box Access hours and the Lobby hours are same but differ from the Retail hours for this post office.

Westview:

Location: 800 Wooded Acres Dr. Waco, TX 76710-9998

Open Time: Mon – Fri: 8.30 AM

Sat: Closed

Sun: Closed

The opening of the post office for PO Box Access hours and the Lobby hours are same but differ from the Retail hours for this post office.

Waco:

Location: 430 W State Highway 6 Waco, TX 76702-9998

Open Time: Mon – Fri: 8.00 AM

Sat: 8.00 AM

Sun: Closed

The opening of the post office for PO Box Access hours and the Lobby hours are same but differ from the Retail hours for this post office.

Hewitt:

Location: 901 S Hewitt Dr. Hewitt, TX 76643-3273

Open Time: Mon – Fri: 7.30 AM

Sat: 7.30 AM

Sun: Closed

The opening of the post office for PO Box Access hours and the Lobby hours are same but differ from the Retail hours for this post office.

It is evident from above-cited examples that the answer to the question of ‘is the US post office open today’ differs from place to place and also depends on the type of service required. The USPS open time for each service like Retail hours, Lobby hours, Passport services, Bulk mail acceptance hours, PO Box access hours and others are not the same, and they differ from each other.

What Time Does the Post Office Close?

The post office closing times are generally 4.30 PM. To ensure that the letters/package reaches its desired destination on time, the pickup and closing of business hours of the post office have to be accounted for.

Usually, the closing time of the post office and the last daily collection are the same, but the deliverables are dependent on many other factors like holidays, shipping, etc.

The USPS closing times of few post offices are as follows:

Market Center:

Location: 130 N Greene St Baltimore, MD 21201-9997

Closing Time: Mon – Fri: 5.00 PM with a break from 2.00 – 3.00 PM

Sat & Sun: Closed

The close of Retail hours, PO Box Access hours and the Lobby hours all the same for this post office.

CPU Lexington Pharmacy:

Location: 220 W Baltimore St STE 1 Baltimore, MD 21201-2563

Closing Time: Mon – Fri: 6.00 PM

Sat: 3.00 PM

Sun: Closed

The close of PO Box Access hours and the Lobby hours are same but differ from the Retail hours for this post office.

CPU Baltimore Visitor Center:

Location: 401 Light St Baltimore, MD 21202-1014

Closing Time: Mon – Fri: 4.00 PM

Sat & Sun: Closed

The close of Retail hours, PO Box Access hours and the Lobby hours all the same for this post office.

Baltimore:

Location: 900 E Fayette St RM 118 Baltimore, MD 21233-9715

Closing Time: Mon – Fri: 7.00 PM

Sat: 5.00 PM

Sun: Closed

The close of PO Box Access hours and the Lobby hours are same but differ from the Retail hours for this post office.

Druid:

Location: 1826 Pennsylvania Ave Baltimore, MD 21217-999

Closing Time: Mon – Fri: 4.00 PM

Sat: 12.00 PM

Sun: Closed

The close of Retail hours, PO Box Access hours and the Lobby hours all the same for this post office.

From above-cited examples, it can be understood that answer to “when does the post office close?” is different to each demographic area and its primary usage and importance. The USPS closing time for each service like Retail hours, Lobby hours, Passport services, Bulk mail acceptance hours, and PO Box access hours are not the same, and they differ from each other, and proper information is the key to make use of it.

USPS Delivery Time:

There are different types of delivery like International delivery, Priority Mail, Domestic mail and packages, informed delivery. Just like the opening and closing of United States postal service centers, the delivery schedules are also governed by timelines. For instance, all domestic mailing has to be delivered before 12.00 PM, and International mail and packages have to be delivered before 3.00 PM. There is also an option to redelivery of goods, in case they were missed earlier. The delivery of goods and mail on holidays are delayed as the USPS is also closed. You can read about the USPS Delivery timings in detail in our different article.

More information regarding this can be obtained by making use of the any of the method listed below in ‘How to Find US Post Office Hours.’

How to Find US Post Office Hours:

To make it easier to transact and utilize the full range of services offered by United States Postal Services, locating a post office, which is conveniently located is important. To this effect, there are few tools which can be used to find out the opening and closing hours, determine the exact location and address of the post offices across the country. All information about this is available on the USPS website and has been detailed below.

Post Office Locator:

1. Open the USPS website (www. usps.com). Select the Mail & Ship option and further select the “Find USPS Locations” in that.

2. Next, select the type of post office as per requirement. Since the USPS offers a plethora of services, make sure to select the correct option. As a default, Post Office and Approved Postal Providers are chosen. The following services are provided and the business hours might vary accordingly.

3. Next type in the State and City or Zip code of the area.

4. Refine your search according to the distance of the post office from the area selected. This feature allows the user to have a look at post offices in the vicinity and select ‘Search.’ The search can be further detailed on selecting the ‘Refine Search’ option which provides these services.

Post Offices

Contract Postal Units

Village Post Offices

National Retailers

Alternate Locations to Buy Stamps

All services might not be offered in all the Post offices

5. Below picture will give all the details of the post office, i.e., the distance, address, and location and the business hours of the selected post office. An illustration of the same is posted below. Here the Retail hours are provided in the field marked as hours.

6. For more detailed information, it can be obtained by clicking on the name of the post office. The Retail hours, PO Box accesses Hours, Lobby Hours are detailed here which would aid in better management of time.

In addition to the above information, it gives information on nearby Self Service Kiosks and Nearby Alternate location. The Self-servicing kiosks are usually operational 24hr/day and can be easily accessed.

USPS Mobile:

In the time where all businesses are striving to make themselves user-friendly, USPS is not far behind. It has its App called “USPS MOBILE” which is compatible with both iOS and Android and is available on App Store and Google Play Store respectively. Many services such as Track your package, Change of Address, Hold mail, Schedule a pickup, etc. can be done through this app which is utilized by many. This App allows the users to track their packages from the moment it is shipped to the moment it is delivered.

Google Maps:

Google Maps provides the required information when needed to locate a place. Open Google Maps, and search for United States Postal Services and it will show all the nearby post offices detailing the address, contact information, distance from the present location, peak business period, reviews, driving directions to the location along with estimated time to reach and the operational hours.

We selected a post office located in Boston, MA. You can see that on the Map below:

Once you select any post office like this, you will be able to see the business hours of that post office. The business hours of this post office in Boston are:

Using any of the above three methods, locating a USPS Post Office is very easy and can be conveniently located and its services utilized effectively.

Conclusion:

This is just a small peek into the services offered by United States Postal Services. The business hours of each center are different and customised to cater to the particular demographic, area of use and geography. Using any of the above three methods, one can obtain the business hours of any USPS center. If general information regarding time is required, then Google Maps can be made use of. But for detailed information on the operational timing of any particular USPS center, the information can be obtained by typing in the zip code or searching based on city and state. Although there are other players and tough competition exists, the USPS provides exceptional service and is inexpensive. With its vast reach in the whole country, businesses and individuals can benefit from this organized sector and seek to improve their prospects.